The Story Of The Horseshoe

This is a simple legend. A good counlryinan w;s taking a rural walk with his sou, Thomas As tbey walked slowly along the father suddenly stopped. " Look !" he saicl, " thero's a bit of iron- a piece of fl horseshoo; piek it up and put it in your pocket." " Pooh ! ' answered tho child, "it's not worth stopping ior." Tho falher, without uttorring an other word, pickcd up the iron, and put it in his pocket. When he came to the vilhige he entcred the blacksmilh's shop and sold it for threo farthinga, and with that sum ho bought some cherries. Then the father :md son set off Again in their ramblcs. The sun vvais burning bot, and neither a house, tree, nor fountain of water was in aight. Thomas soon coniplained of being tirad, and had some difficulfy in foliowing his father, who walked on with a firm step. Pei-ceiving that his boy was tired, tho fatber let fall a eherry as if by accident. Thoni: s stooped and quickly pickcd it up, and devoured it. A little f'urther he dropped another, aud the boy picked it up as eagerly as ever ; and thus they continued, the father dropping the fruit and the sou pieking them up. When the last one was eaten tho lather stopped, and turning to the boy said : " Look, ray son ! If you had chosen to stoop once and piek up a piece of horseshoe, you would not havo been obliged at last to stoop so often to piek up the cberrios ! "